Qualities of front office staff have long been described as polite - friendly - responsive - prompt and staff with tidy appearance.

With the increasing need to excel in customer relations the emphasis has shifted in more recent times to ‘an ability to handle complaints well',  ‘an ability to correctly retain customers', ‘an ability to build relations and recover from service failure', as well as ‘a good knowledge of the hotel and facilities as well as local attractions'. With that in mind, it is no wonder that courses to train front office staff focus on how to be informative, technologically aware and manage the disgruntled customer.

Customer Complaints

The top 4 listed international customer complaints are: being kept waiting, having a problem ignored or glossed over, rude staff - when there is never a good reason, and finally, a hospitality outlet that makes customers jump through hoops for a refund.

With more savvy customers and a growing culture of assertiveness, customers aren't afraid to say when the facilities and service is not as expected. It is fair to say though that sometimes guest expectations are not altogether correct but the complaint still needs to be listened to and addressed with concern.

Other times front desk staff are faced with an over angry disgruntled guest  who is really rude. Advice from customer care experts is to let guests vent out the problem and remember that their behaviour is not an attack directed against you personally. When you remain calm and listen, you can identify the real problem behind the anger and work to solve it.

Take a reality check: ignoring a customer's problem won't make it, nor the customer, go away.  Solutions to customer problems that are self-serving  and work for the company stand out. Many complaints and problems don't fit into neat boxes with obvious courses of actions. These problems need special attention, not standard responses. More organizations are realizing that their policy must fit the customer's needs, not the other way around

Informative Staff

Reliant on guide books, local know-how and in-house tourism information desks, front office staff work to keep up with providing with as much information as is available. In today's front office an experienced concierge is invaluable. Being a reliable source of local information and providing an in-room city guide, offers great insights into local hot spots.

When it comes to helping guests locate a great restaurant or local attraction during their stay, hoteliers have a range of tools at their disposal. Long known for its hotel and restaurant guides in Europe, the Michelin Guide (popularly known as the Michelin Red Guide) separates the mediocre from the magnificent through unique rating systems. Many similar style books exist worldwide.

City guides have come a long way from the days of simple brochures containing a concise list of attractions. The web also means it is possible to find just the right bar or night club, family friendly restaurant or day spa. Travel guide services make it possible to cater and advise the very eccentric and niche guest.

SpotLight is the weekly column exclusively written for 4Hoteliers.com by Sarah Muxlow, it is highlighting the challenges and issues which the global hospitality is facing today.

Sarah is writing for hotel and restaurant owners, hotel chain managers, producers/growers/sellers of food & beverage, restaurant associations, governing bodies and hotel schools. She is looking at the problems they face...competition, trends of branding, staff shortages, unskilled staff, turning out students who are looking for good in-house management training schemes with hotel chains, what makes a good quality training course at a hotel school and more... 

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